Strange Attraction
by falala
Summary: Mirajane, local matchmaker, starts to wonder about her own personal life. Laxus, on the other hand, has had his eyes set on this particular barmaid since his younger years. Will he be able to admit to her how he feels? Will she realize that maybe the one she's looking for is right in front of her? Mirajane x Laxus fic... since there are so few :P


**Strange Attraction**

**Chapter 1: Unknown Reasons**

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Life at Fairy Tail was exactly how people imagined it to be. From it being loud and rambunctious to loyal and fearless, these were the various traits that represented Fairy Tail. Mirajane Strauss played a major role in getting where Fairy Tail where it was now—albeit she was an ex-mage. She was the pin-up model for Fairy Tail, Master Makarov's assistant (unofficially), and is responsible for putting up job postings in the guild. But her main job was being the barmaid. Everything else was extra. Clearly she kept herself busy.

Other than those titles, Mirajane was also very close to almost everyone in the guild. She became somewhat like a mother figure, especially to those who did not have any motherly figures in their own lives. She may still be very young but her wisdom was beyond her years. At a young age, she learned that through troubles, people have the choice to be bitter or move on and live happily. Everyone in the guild respected her, not just because of her physical strength but because of her willpower to do what's right.

There was no doubt why she had so many admirers; she was beautiful, talented, and kind. Even though she had many people trying to court her, she had never once accepted a date. She simply was not interested in any of her suitors. Her belief of finding the one somewhat influenced how she viewed men. But as of late, Mirajane couldn't help but admire the forming couples around her. It was cute—simply nice to witness. She managed to categorize the relationships into three.

Number one: Bonded Soul Mates. The best example was Lucy and Natsu. Their relationship ran so deep that their bond would never be broken, not even in a hundred lifetimes. Some people were just meant for each other and those two had that.

Number two: Ying and Yang. Best example was Levy and Gajeel. Those two cannot be anymore different. She was small, book smart, and highly intellectual. Gajeel was a brute. Levy was Beauty and Gajeel was the Beast. Complete opposites but complemented each other very well. His strong demeanour and her meek attitude fit well with each other because it was a give and take relationship. He'd back down for her, and she'd stand up for him. It was balanced.

Number three: Hate/Love Type. Elfman and Evergreen were probably the best. They argued all the time, agreed on nothing, and had no common ground. Most people would find this ship sinking but they were attracted to each other and that's all that mattered. Their relationship ran on raw passion and emotion. It may be tiring but worth it.

Mirajane wondered which category she would be in. If anything she was hoping for bonded soul mates because every girl wants to find her soul mate and live happily ever after. She started to wonder if her knight in shining armour would ever show up. She had been waiting two decades for something, yet nothing was happening.

Jealousy started to bubble in the pit of her stomach as she watched how Natsu interacted with Lucy. His facial expressions showed it all and Lucy also was an open book. Their feelings for each other never needed words to explain how they felt. It was all in the way they acted around each other. How easily they fell into step with each other and how easy it was to go with the flow of their relationship. Although neither of them really recognized each other's feelings, they both knew—so did everyone around them—that they were there for each other in the long run.

She sighed. She wanted that. She wanted that comfort of knowing that that person was the one and only.

"Can I have a beer, Mira?"

Mirajane snapped out of her thoughts and looked blankly at the man who interrupted her inner turmoil.

"Beer, Mirajane." He stared at her with his strict gaze—not like it ever worked on her. She had never once found him scary or intimidating. Maybe that was because of how well she knew him. She was one of the few who Laxus would openly express his feelings—if he had any at all. But it was nice knowing that he can talk to her whenever he wanted to.

"Okay coming up." She dug into her fridge to find a beer. She popped it open and slid it to him. "Catch."

He caught the beer effortlessly and took a sip. It was instant relaxation for him. Mira sauntered over to the stool next to him and sat down. She leaned back and sighed. It's been a while since they had a private talk. He may open up to her but ever since he came back from exile, he hasn't really talked much. Granted, him opening up to her meant that he spoke two to five sentences—twice as much than he would to anyone else.

"Something wrong?' He asked her.

She looked at him puzzled. He, of all people, asking about how she's doing—how strange; she wanted to scoff but that would come off as rude. She settled for just a blank stare.

"What?" He took another sip without glancing at her.

"I didn't think you'd care." Her gaze continued to stare across the room.

"I don't. But I'd give an ear if you ever needed to rant." He smirked.

"Only one ear?"

"Just one."

Mirajane receded back to her spot behind the counter. Laxus kept a suspicious eye on her too.

"You keeping _one_ eye on me too?" She asked teasingly.

"Just one." He turned on his seat so that his back was leaning against the counter now.

Mirajane had known this man in front of her for a very long time. He was certainly full of surprises. True, he did have a messed up father, but he was brought up by his grandfather who was ten times better. In his own twisted way, he tried to make Fairy Tail the best—but his way of doing things were so wrong it earned him one ticket to exile. He was weird. But as he sat there, he seemed almost normal. Ever since he came back, he was quiet and reserved—a tad humble. He had been like that when he was a child until... something changed in him. The cocky and arrogant Laxus was a terror. She hated him then. But now, he changed to _what_—she didn't know.

They stayed there in their comfortable silence for quite a while—watching the regular bar fights, the constant arguments, and the brewing relationships. He never left the bar; she never stopped staring at him. It was weird; she started to wonder what had changed him.

The occasional customer would order a drink and she served it quickly and went back to staring him down. She wanted to know these things about Laxus. For what reasons are unknown, she just had that feeling of wanting to know.

Finally he got up from the bar and grabbed his coat. He turned around and caught the white haired barmaid staring at him. He gave his cocky smirk, something that never changed.

"Uh... you're leaving?" She asked quickly as she tried to find something to do.

"What time are you done?" He asked her.

"Soon, in about ten minutes." She looked at the clock. Damn, she wasted time staring at the back of his damn head that she hadn't started cleaning up the bar yet.

"I'll help and then walk you home." He put his jacket back on the hanger and walked over to her side of the bar. She didn't know why but her face felt hot. He looked at her funny. Then her heart started to beat a little faster. She had never felt like this before so why now. She whipped around to hide her intense heated face from his _one_ eye.

"You want me to get the mop going while you wipe down?" He asked.

She nodded as she found her rag to wipe down the counter.

After an awkward 30 minute clean up Mirajane finally closed down the bar. Thanks to Laxus, he kicked everyone out of the guild so there wouldn't be any more mess around the bar. Perplexed and surprised, Mirajane failed to understand why her body reacted to him—of all people. She was calm, collected, and too damn old to act that way. Why him?

Laxus waited for her outside the guild doors as she locked up. Her fingers nervously jingled the keys as she was locking the door. Honestly—she tried to reason with herself—was Laxus worth this much anxiety? He gave her that stare again, the one that made her feel childish and out of place.

"Don't give me that look." She scoffed.

"I keep _one_ eye on you remember?" He chuckled.

Mirajane rolled her eyes. "Did you want to talk?"

"Sorta—but you were too busy staring at the back of my head." He smirked.

"Uhhh.." Mirajane felt that heat rise up to her cheeks once more. "I was just wondering why your head was unevenly shaped." She rebutted.

He snorted as if it was his way of saying _yeah right_. "My head's a perfect shape." He said seriously.

Mirajane laughed. "Seriously though, you never really come to the bar."

"True." He answered.

Mirajane looked at him as he thought about something. He really wanted to tell her something but couldn't find the words. "So?" She prompted.

"I wanted to..." He paused as if to find the right words. "Thank you."

"For what?" Laxus never ever admitted to anything sentimental. She was wide-eyed and attentive.

"For listening." He really was a man of few words.

"I listen to everyone though." They stopped in front of her door. Mirajane knew her siblings were home because of the manly snores she heard through the open window. She smiled as she rested her hand on his forearm. It was this time that Mirajane saw Laxus flush at their physical contact. Was he feeling the same strange feeling?

"It's not the same..." He turned his head away. "You still talked to me after everything."

"Laxus you changed." She smiled genuinely.

He nodded in agreement.

"But everyone still treats you like their nakama. They trust you with their lives." She assured him.

He nodded again. "Did you hate me? Before?"

Mirajane turned away. Laxus knew the answer and he dropped his arm. "I didn't understand how you changed so much... into that kind of person."

"Weren't you the same?" He snapped almost too bitterly. She realized she hurt his feelings—but he was usually so strong; her words shouldn't have mattered to him. She tried to place her hand on his arm but he pulled away.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "Does it matter how I feel?"

"It matters to me..." He walked away without even making sure she opened her door. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to hear what he said, but she heard. His voice had been a little shaky and quiet but she heard.

Mirajane stood there dumbfounded at what had just happened. Things were confusing from the start but at least it was civil but now, she must have crossed the line somewhere. How on earth were they supposed to talk when he's mad at her? More importantly, why did she even care?

Her feet stomped on the ground as she unlocked her door. Little mumbles spat out of her mouth because of confusion and anger mainly. Not a clue of how she offended him, did she not speak the truth. Would he rather have her lie instead just to make him feel better? When she was younger, she was a brat but once she lost Lisanna, she changed for the better, she'd never once looked back at her old life. Acknowledging the past meant it was one step closer to moving on. Laxus had to realize that too. Maybe she'd remind him—especially if he had that _one_ ear open for her.

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**A/N: First Miraxus fic lol... damn I need to get on my other stories huh. But since I had time and I was thinking of which couple to give this plot to, it seemed better fitting for Laxus and Mirajane. Lol but I ship them, whatever. Who cares that there is little to no evidence for this pairing, a girl can dream right? Or blow things out of proportion. (: Anyways enjoy and don't forget to R&R**


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